Rural Homestay and Durban

Ok so I apologize for the very delayed post, but the internet access has been limited for past week or two.

On Friday, March 6, we left Cape Town and flew to East London in the Eastern Cape. We drove to Tshabo, the village where we lived with families for five days. Karen and I (stayed together) arrived at our house after a straining hike to our house (due to our obnoxiously large rolling duffle bags that are not designed to roll down gravel roads). We looked like stupid Americans carrying WAY too much stuff. Karen and I arrived at our “house” and noticed that it consisted of a bed, kitchen table, fridge, stove and random cabinets and drawers. The two of us slept in the same double bed while our two sisis slept on the floor on a makeshift mattress (blankets upon blankets). Life there is drastically different from anything I’ve ever experienced. There is no indoor plumbing or running water, so you have to go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground/makeshift outhouse, bathe in a plastic bucket in the middle of the house, and fill up water at the spout outside. Both our Mama and Tata (dad) lived with us which is unusual because most dads work in Jo’burg and come home about 4 times a year. We also had two sisters (sisis) and the baby of one of their other daughters who doesn’t live there. They were really sweet and welcoming, really tried to make us feel part of the family and happy to be there. People are so poor there that families literally live in shacks with little amounts of food. But at the same time they fed us mounds after mounds of food every 2 hours. I think I ate more during that stay than in Langa. It was really ironic because they treated us like kings and queens (serving Karen and I on special trays while they didn’t use them). The scenery around the house is absolutely gorgeous. There are endless rolling hills with random animals wandering around (cows, goats, chickens etc.). They fed us everything from rice, chicken and potatoes to fat cakes (fried dough) to steamed bread (the most delicious freshly baked bread) to African salad (mealie corn and full cream milk…not my fave..).

After leaving Tshabo, we drove through the beginning of the Wild Coast and stayed at a place called Buccaners aka paradise for three nights. First of the all, the drive was beautiful- tons of lush trees and wildlife- we even saw Zebras. It was the first time I saw scenery that made me feel like I was in stereotypical Africa. The group slept in 2 very comfortable and spacious bunk rooms. The beach was a three minute walk from the bunk rooms, and a pool just a minute passed the beach. While there, I took surf lessons, got a massage, went out a few times to the bar that they have (and met a lot of international travelers- Europeans and some Americans), had a bonfire on the beach, and ate DELICIOUS food.

After those three relaxing days, we hit the road again and started our twelve hour drive to Durban. When we arrived in Durban on Sunday (March 15), we had a quick meeting and then about 8 of us went to the beach about 10 minutes away. The weather here is really humid and hot so it was really refreshing to be in the water for a few hours. The water was a gorgeous deep blue and it was packed with people body surfing and riding the enormous waves. This was my first exposure to the huge Indian population that is Durban. In Cape Town and in other areas, I became accustomed to being surrounded by Blacks as the majority of the population, so it was almost shocking to come to Durban and mainly see Indian people. I felt like I traveled outside the country- even to India.

Also since being in Durban, I have tried Bunny Chow (an Indian dish filled with your choice of meat or veggies in a spicy, but tasty sauce served in a bread bowl), visited Victoria St. Market (a famous Indian street market), visited the largest Muslim mosque in the Southern hemisphere and toured a Hindu temple.
We will be spending another 3 days in Durban before going to Unfolozi National Park for a safari. On Sunday, we will be traveling back to Cape Town for a 2 night stay with our Langa families and then we are off to Stellenbosch for a homestay with an Afrikaaner family and a tour of the wine country.

It is insane to think that a month and a half has already passed by. I am trying to enjoy every moment, knowing that time is starting to fly. I have genuinely loved spending this whole time with the people in my group. Even though we sometimes spend too much time as group of 19, it has been great and helpful having people surrounding you that you can talk to about all the challenges and experiences. It has also been great meeting South Africans and other international travelers when I can. Through the homestays, nights out and visits to schools and organizations, I have been eager to talk to South Africans to learn more about this country first hand.

Miss you all!